Alan Kulwicki definitely did it his way.

With everything he owned packed on his truck and trailer, the Wisconsin native rolled into Charlotte, North Carolina determined to succeed at NASCAR's highest level.

Kulwicki had one car and a limited sponsorship from Quincey's Steak House when he went to Daytona in February, 1986. He did not make the field for the Daytona 500 but went on to capture the NASCAR Rookie of the Year award, edging out Michael Waltrip and Davey Allison for the honors.

Turning down offers to drive for major car owners, Junior Johnson among them, Kulwicki had his own way of doing things. For whatever he lacked in the finance department, Kulwicki made up for with determination and hard work.

By the time the 1992 NASCAR Cup Series season started, Kulwicki had secured a shop behind the Lowe's Motor Speedway and was still racing on a budget, now with Hooters as a sponsor. With Paul Andrews on the pit box, Kulwicki waged a fierce battle with Bill Elliott, who was driving for Junior Johnson at the time, for the 1992 NASCAR title. Kulwicki won the championship by a mere 10 points after calculating fuel mileage and laps led from the cockpit of his #7 during the final race of the season at Atlanta. It remains one of the closest point races in NASCAR history.

Alan Kulwicki earned the 1992 NASCAR title without the support of major sponsorship and with a team he built himself from the ground up, a true independent. He blazed a path to the top of NASCAR racing that few would even attempt to travel in his day, much less today.

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